


All these voices in my head

by purplesmiles



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Clan Politics, Codependency, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff and Humor, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Kakashi is confused, Kekkei Genkai | Bloodline Limit, M/M, Medic Uzumaki Naruto, One-Sided Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, One-Sided Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overpowered, Powerful Uchiha Sasuke, Powerful Uzumaki Naruto, Protective Uchiha Sasuke, Reincarnation, Romance, Sasuke will kill anyone who looks at Naruto the wrong way, Sensor Uchiha Sasuke, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Timeline What Timeline, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, alternate team 7
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26475235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplesmiles/pseuds/purplesmiles
Summary: Asura and Indra, Hashirama and Madara, Naruto and Sasuke, one was the sun and other the moon. Neither can exist without the other.or where Sasuke and Naruto remember their past lives and get the closure they deserve
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito, Ootsutsuki Asura & Ootsutsuki Indra, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Uchiha Itachi/Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 110
Kudos: 649





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ōtsutsuki Legacy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25977934) by [Arthuria_PenDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon). 



> random ideas i have lol

"Ni-sama!" A voice cried as a young boy, only six years old, ran to the edge of the forest, gasping for breath as he tried to get away from the large bear chasing him. He had just wanted to do a harmless prank and thus ventured into the forest alone, not mindful of its many dangers. He was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion when he felt his brothers chakra as he tackled the beast down from behind him.

Once he realised he was safe his fatigue caught up to him and he fell to the ground, breathing heavily, he was so so scared, his tears won't stop even if he tried.  
"Asura? Ototo? Are you okay?" His elder brother asked gently, holding him in his arms, voice concerned. 

"Yes, I-I was just-, Didn't expect to-" Asura broke into sobs in his brothers chest as he hugged him tightly. "Shh, don't you worry, Ni-san will always protect you" Indra smiled at his tear stricken face, a strong and comforting presence.

"You promise?" Young and hopeful eyes looked up at his elder brother with awe and adoration.

"I promise, rest, I will take us home" and with that Indra picked Asura up, who passed out from exhaustion in his arms.

\----

For Indra Otsusuk, his younger brother was the most important thing in his life, he didn't know his mother, and his father loved them both, but he was the creator of Ninshu and had many duties that took up his attention and time. Indra didn't mind, always happy to shower his Ototo in attention. There was very little he wouldn't do for him. Indra was not a social person, he preferred to do things alone, he took upon everything by himself so that his younger brother could enjoy his childhood.

"Ni-sama, look at this, I did it all by myself" Asura says holding up a scroll of his Ninshu lessons left by their father. Indra turned to praise him and the young boy basked in his affection.

It was after their dog died and Indra met black Zetsu who spoke to him about power that he started withdrawing from his brother and father. He started using chakra for practical things and made hand seals to access it better. His father praised him and Asura looked at him with the same hero worship as in their childhood.

He awakened his Sharingan and spent most of his time creating new jutsus. Zetsu continued to fill his mind with ideas of power. Sometimes his brother seemed sad when they couldn't spend time together like they did before, but he reminded himself that all that he was doing was to keep Asura safe.

When their father was on their deathbed, they met their other siblings, the bijuu. Indra didn't really see them as family at first but Asura made friends with them all and so Indra accepted them as well, slowly coming to see them as his own little brothers. One night, after Asura had returned from his quest, his father declared him as the heir to Ninshu.

"Oto-sama! I can't possibly accept this, Ni-sama is elder and he is the one to develop most of the new techniques" he said to his father, but Hagoromo was firm in his decision. Asura watched as Indra left in rage, wanting to go after him but also wanting to give him space.

Indra felt disappointment anger for their father when Asura was chosen to succeed Ninshu. He had done all that he could so that his brother wouldn't have to worry about these things. He wandered into the forest, wanting to calm his mind when he met Zetsu again. He spoke of power and his potential, the unfairness shown to him by his own kin, and over some time his anger turned into hatred. The poison Zetsu filled his head with clouded the love he had for his family.

He and his two loyal followers returned home on the day his brother was being declared the heir. He killed them both and thanked them, for he awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. Zetsu tells up about his prowess and how he can get even greater power. He attacks the celebration, denouncing the way of bringing peace by love and instead bringing it about with power.

Asura wants to join forces with his elder brother, and promises his father to never give up on his Ni-san as long as he lives. Hagoromo passes away and the two brothers continue to fight. Asura wants desperately for his aniki to make up with him but he can't let him hurt other people in their fights. So they both fight many battles over decades of their lives.

Once more they clash, and this time Asura knows is the last. They both fight with everything they have and Asura's heart breaks everytime his brother looks at him with hate instead of love. He wonders if he is going to die by the hands of his elder brother who looks at him as if he's the reason for all that's wrong in the world. A tear escapes his eye as he uses the last of his chakra to hit his brother, not being able to bring himself to hit a vital point. But Indra had no such worries as he dives his sword straight through Asura's chest.

Asura falls to the ground, his brother standing over him, a crazed glint in his eyes at finally proving power is superior to love. It is only when he looks at Asura's face that he sees his brother is crying, and Indra for the first time in years is able to separate his own thoughts from Zetsu's. He wanted to be strong so that he could protect Asura, his family. Over time he had forgotten the reason for always pushing himself to be the best. What use was a power if it took away the only person precious to him?

'kin-killer' a voice whispers in his mind and he jerks back as if slapped, because he couldn't kill his brother, but as he looks down at Asura's body which is slowly losing its life he realises it is him who did this.

"Asura!" He gasps, ignoring his own chakra exhaustion as he leans over his and tries to heal his wound. It is not working, he wasn't good at healing, he could only destroy. "Please, please don't die" he whispered as his own tears fall and he uses whatever bit of chakra he has to try and close the wound.

"Ni-sama...." Says Asura for the first time in years, because the person near him right now is whom he recognises as his beloved brother. Someone he hadn't seen for decades. "I forgive you" he says as his consciousness starts to fade.

"No! Asura, wake up, hang on please" Indra exclaims desperate as his brothers pulse weakens under his hands. He looks at his hands, covered in red by his own brothers blood, watches them shake as he falls beside him, his own energy running out. He knows that his wounds will bleed out, but that's okay.

"I promise Asura, even if I die, I will earn your forgiveness" he says as he closes his eyes and let's the world fade.

And so the two brothers reincarnate over and over, always with the purpose of solving their feud and earning forgiveness. But each time, Zetsu intervenes, and it is the same cycle of hatred and betrayal all over again.

There is one time when Asura's chakra is born attached to Hashirama and Indra's to Madara. Both of them are strong, closely to what Indra and Asura themselves had been. They both gravitate towards each other and dream about peace. Just like Asura, Hashirama wants everyone to live in harmony and end meaningless fighting, and just like Indra, Madara wants to keep his younger brother safe from wars and bloodshed. Asura and Indra believe that they may finally rest peace, but then Zetsu meddles and destroys everything, just like before.

Indra watches as Madara attacks to kill and Hashirama does to defend, he hates that this is familiar, hates that he let himself become obsessed and manipulated and his descendants do the same while his brother suffered every time.

But Indra is nothing if not stubborn, he will continue to try until he achieves his purpose and makes peace with his brother.

He watches as the years pass and his father becomes a legend and Ninshu is a word unknown to people. Ninjustsu is born and is used to fight rather than connect.

And then one day he meets a little eight year boy in their mindscape. 

\------

Naruto is five years old when he sees someone in his dreams for the first time, the man tells him his name is Asura and tells him stories of his childhood and his brother. He listens to every word and enjoys their interactions because this person is always kind to him and no one is ever kind to him. For some reason, he can't talk back to the other person, only listen and express his words through gestures.

He looks forward to going to sleep more than the daytime which is when he is always alone. 

\----

Sasuke is eight years old when his brother kills his entire family, his entire clan, it is on that day that he swears to cut all bonds from his life and avenge his clan. It is also the first time he meets a man in his dream who calls himself Indra and tells him that revenge will only leave him hollow. 


	2. sasuke; remembering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello.  
> I have changed some facts about the Uchiha massacre in this book, which basically make Danzo and Orochimaru look worse than in canon (i didnt think that was possible-) 
> 
> anyway, I have also made some editings to the first chapter, and I will proofread this one later. Enjoy hehe

Sasuke is tired, tired of the academy, tired of people looking at him with pity, or as if he would one day go insane like his brother did and decide to kill everyone in sight. He is tired of cleaning up the Uchiha compound the best he can. He misses his mother's food, her smiles and her voice. He misses his father, even though they were never close, he still misses him. He misses the lady in their compound who would greet him every morning as he left for the academy. He misses everyone. 

But most of all he misses his brother, his brother who was always there for him even when his parents didn't care. Who told him he was proud of his smallest of achievements when his father scowled in disappointment after he failed to do something up to his expectations. Who was the best shinobi ever and took all his missions without fail, but still made time to give him gifts on his birthdays while the others dismissed it as any other day. He misses him so much it hurt physically. 

He wants to shout and scream and ask him why did he leave him alive, why did he kill everyone, why did he leave him _alone._ For some time, all he wanted was to kill his brother and avenge his clan. Rebuild the Uchiha and their prestige. But he knows he won't ever be strong enough to kill his brother, maybe physically, but never strong enough to do it. How could he? When he was the only one to ever see him and acknowledge him, even if it was all for show. 

So instead he grieves for him along with everyone else, pays his respects to his brother as he does to his parents. In a way, Itachi too died, the one he remembered from his childhood, the gentle and kind one, was dead in all but flesh. He let his anger die away with it and all that was left was exhaustion. 

It has been over six months since the Uchiha incident. The only time Sasuke gets peace is when he is asleep, he expected nightmares but all he sees is a man who calls himself Indra, he wonders if he has finally gone insane and has started imagining people. But even if it is just a figure created by his mind, he helps. They don't talk, Sasuke finds he can't speak to him either way. Instead, the man teaches him how to meditate, calm his breathing, mould his chakra. Sometimes he gets dreams of another world, where only a handful of people know about Chakra, which doesn't have ninjas. He wonders why it feels more like a dream. 

He is walking down the road, he generally avoids going out at night, a rule his mother had set before she died, subconsciously he still follows it most of the time. But he needs to get some necessary supplies for dinner, and thus decides to take a trip into the markets. Tonight is the Kyuubi festival, it has been eight years since the Kyuubi attack, since the Yondaime gave up his life to save the village. He doesn't care for festivals, it's just another day for him. 

He quickly finishes up his shopping, most of the shopkeepers give him everything with discounts, an attempt to lessen an orphans pain. He hates it, he doesn't want their pity. He has the fortune of the whole Uchiha clan with him, he can afford these things just fine. But his mother taught him to always be polite in public, Uchiha's don't overreact. So he thanks them, takes his belongings and leaves. 

He plans to go straight home, but he finds some civilians laughing and drinking in an alley. Despite the warnings in his head, he finds himself curious to see what are they laughing about. 

"Shut up, demon fox, you should go away and let this village live free!" on of them shouts and he notices a small figure standing against the wall. It's Naruto, an annoying boy from his class. He always challenges him with his less than poor skills and shouts instead of speaking. For some reason, everyone hates him, the teachers at the academy don't care about answering his questions and most of them send him out of the class even when he doesn't do anything. He never cared much for him, but something in him wants to go and stop those people from yelling at him. 

"I didn't do anything 'ttebayo! My name is not demon fox, I am Uzumaki Naruto!" He yells and starts to run away. 

_"I didn't do it Ni-sama, I was sleeping the whole time" Asura pouted while he smiled at him fondly, the lady complaining about her garden long forgotten in favour of patting his brother's head._

Sasuke blinked, this was wrong, he was supposed to deny his pranks with giggles and pouts and not that hurt look in Naruto's eyes like he was in pain. He watched as one of the men aimed to swing his hand at the young boy and before he knew it, he had dropped his bags of food and ran towards Naruto to get him out of the way. 

_protect, protect, protect_

His mind whirled as he watched and ran, just in time to push the boy down on the ground as he landed on him protectively. 

He looked up at the man who was about to attack his younger brother (brother?) with a snarl. 

"What do you think you are doing?" 

The man backs away with fear, he might be an academy student, but that doesn't mean he can't wipe the floor with civilians. 

"Whatever, stupid monster deserved it." he says and scurries out of there, along with his friends who quickly follow. 

Naruto is looking up at him with an unreadable expression.

_Awe, confusion, gratitude, embarrassment._

Emotions flicker on his face so fast that he can't decipher them. He gets up from the ground and offers a hand to the blonde. 

_Asura is to be safe_ _and loved._

He thinks and shakes his head. His classmate hesitantly accepts his hand and stands up himself. 

"I didn't need your help." He says and Sasuke nods, he doesn't appreciate other people trying to intrude himself. 

Naruto looks really confused for a second but he pulls himself out of whatever he is thinking and offers to help Sasuke with his groceries. 

Sasuke has to think for a second before he remembers that in his hurry he had dropped his bags on the street. Both of them gather the fallen packets in silence, no signs of awkwardness in their behaviour, it feels almost natural. 

_"I want to play, this is so boring!" Asura whines and Indra sighs, turning to face him from where he was collecting herbs. "I know Ototo, if you finish this quickly I'll make your favourite food for dinner." he says, because Asura always caved in the quickest when the reward was food._

_"Yes!" came the enthusiastic reply and he chuckled, a fond smile on his face._

Sasuke snorted at this particular memory, the other boy didn't appreciate the gesture and placed the full bag in his arms. 

"No need to laugh at me 'ttebayo, I'll laugh when you lose to me in class next time!" 

"I wasn't laughing at you...." He justified, "...... do you want to come over for dinner?" He asked, food was the best way to bond after all. 

"Why?" Naruto asked, his face full of hesitance and a bit of shock. 

"I bought too much, plus all shops are likely closed by now" He shrugged, in reality, he didn't want to eat alone again, he also wanted to cook for Naruto, the thought felt comforting and familiar. 

"Okay... But you have to make Ramen! I would have gone to Ichiraku ramen but it's closed now... I think so anyway" there was a light in his eyes as he spoke about food and it made Sasuke want to pat his hair, he didn't, because he didn't believe that the blonde would appreciate it. 

"Hn, tomato ramen then" With that, he began walking towards home, and from his peripheral saw that the Naruto was following him, a grin on his face that made him smile despite himself.

"Do you go to Ichiraku ramen often?" He asks, mildly curious.

"Nope! I eat ramen at home, but during special days and sometimes on weekends I go to Ichiraku's cause they have the best ramen in the whole world 'ttebayo" the way Naruto spoke about ramen was similar to how Shisui used to talk about taiyaki. It had been too long since he had remembered him, it always made his chest ache. 

"Ah, today is the Kyuubi festival..." He trailed off, more to change the direction his thoughts were heading too. 

"Huh? Well yeah, but it's my birthday too" Naruto's voice had gone quieter in the end, almost as if he was not used to telling people about his birthdays. He knew the boy lived alone, and that people didn't like him for some reason, but he also remembered his mother had always subtly tried to look out for him, so whatever the reason was for him being disliked didn't matter, he also felt sad that he was being treated so poorly on his birthday, what _would_ everyone decide to hate an _eight-year-old boy for?_

"Hn. Happy birthday.." he cringed himself at how awkward he sounded, but the look of utter shock on the others face, which then changed into the brightest grin he had ever seen (hitting him like sunshine on his face) was enough to forget his own thoughts. 

"Thanks, Sasuke! Maybe you're not a total bastard after all" Naruto replied and Sasuke rolled his eyes. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

\-----

Sasuke stood in front of the door to the last room in his house left uncleaned. After the massacre, he made time to sort out every house in their compound. Alone, at first, but after a few months of Naruto and Sasuke becoming friends, the blonde had helped out more often than not. He had left his own home for the end, he didn't want to mess up his parent's room, but he had gathered his courage done it. 

Now, all that was left was Itachi's room. He couldn't bring himself to enter it. Dread filled him every time he thought about what he would find inside. He had been in here many times when he was a child, but in the past few years, he didn't get to spend enough time with his brother to be there.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside, the room was covered in a layer of dust, which he would have to get cleaned. Itachi's room was well organised and neat. Nothing fancy or distinctive. He quickly worked through the cupboards, taking clothes that could be donated to the orphanage. He selfishly didn't take the shirts he had seen his brother wear the most, he didn't want to give that up. In a few minutes, he had done everything he could. He was just clearing out one of the shelves when he found a small wooden box on it. He was hesitant but he did reach out for it, biting his lower lip as he contemplated it in silence. 

When he did open it, his eyes teared up, it had photos of Sasuke and Itachi. There was one when he was just a baby, Itachi holding him up with awe, _how could one fake that?_ It was full of pictures, the date written behind him. It had little notes too. 

_'Nissan! Good luck on your mission, I made a bento for you (It has tomatoes!!), Take care, I'll see you soon.'_

He read one of them, it was his own handwriting, the paper was stained, he must have kept it with the food, but Itachi still kept it, kept all the notes and pictures so then _why._

_why would he do that?_

_why tell him that he was just pretending?_

Sasuke hates conflicting feelings, he hates his brother, no, his brother is dead already, he grieved for him at the shrine, then why can't he just let go, why does it always hurt? 

He doesn't know how long he sits there and sobs, his face is all red by the time he manages to calm down. He takes the wooden box to his room, keeping it in his drawer, safe. _And hidden_. 

He goes to bed, but sleep doesn't come. He stays awake for hours, he knows he'll be tired at the academy tomorrow, they have a test too. 

Hours later when he does fall asleep, he dreams of a little brother who calls him 'Ni-sama', a father who looks at him with pride, followers who believe in him. 

But he also dreams of standing beside his dying father, promising to erase his teachings, of killing his two most loyal followers, _no, they might be friends_ , of diving a blade straight through his brother's chest-

Sasuke wakes up panting, his throat his dry and cheeks are wet, he brings a hand to his face and realises he's been crying. He has seen these people often enough in his dreams, but they have never been like this. He would never kill his brother, _he wouldn't_. 

He looks at the mood through his window, into the dark night, his thoughts are filled with memories that aren't quite his. He remembers, being someone else, and then someone else, so many someones, the only thing that has been constant in those lives has been Asura. 

_His little brother._

_Naruto._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave kudos and comments hahahahahahahahahahhaahah 
> 
> JFIEfnefelg stay safe guys <3


	3. naruto; confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto wouldn't let his best friend fall into an endless spiral of nightmares and self loathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter but I updated super quick so eh. happy reading

Sasuke was acting weird, Naruto was sure of it. It must have been something to do with whatever happened while he was clearing his brother's room yesterday. He kept looking at Naruto every few minutes, almost as if he would disappear. Naruto thought he saw fear and panic in his eyes. Did he find something really bad? He wanted to ask but he knew Sasuke didn't like talking about his family most of the time. 

But that didn't mean he could let his friend be disturbed all alone, so he tried making jokes to cheer him up. It did work per se, as in Sasuke would smile a bit with a strange look in his eyes and ....pat his head? Naruto wasn't a  _ dog.  _ But since it seemed to make him feel better than before, he put up with it. Not that he actually minded it, it felt nice, almost familiar. 

_ "Ni-sama, why is the fish you catch always bigger than mine!?" Asura whined as they walked home with their catch. "Hm, it's because I'm older. Once you reach my age you'll be able to catch big fishes."  _

" _ Even bigger than yours!!?" bright eyes shone proudly, Indra patted his head, "Much bigger."  _

Another thing was his chakra, since they had started learning about chakra in their academy everyone's chakra had its own feel to it, some were warm, some calm, some felt angry sometimes, some sad. Sasuke's chakra was very crisp, like electricity. But whatever happened yesterday has made his chakra crisp and warm and sad and fond?. And it's  _ so  _ much. Naruto doesn't know what it means but since it feels nice so he supposes it's nothing too bad. But Sasuke is the first person to become his friend, who never badmouths him, and Naruto is going to be the best friend ever and make him feel better 'ttebayo!

\-----

"... are you sure about that?" 

"Yes." 

"It is a big decision, surely you would need-"

"I've already thought about it Hokage-sama. I only wish to keep my own house and clan fortune. The rest of the houses in the compound may be sold to whoever wants them." 

"I can understand that, but dissolving the clan? The Uchiha were one of the founding clans of Konoha, the name still carries respect within people" 

"I know that, but I'm the last one of my clan, and I have no desire to have any children, so the clan will die out anyway" Sasuke was firm in his decision. He was the one who made this clan, he would be the one to end it. He could see that the Hokage was not pleased with his decision, he  _ was  _ ten after all. 

"Fine, once you reach the rank of chunin I will give you official documents about dissolving the clan. The Uchiha compound will be open for sale as you desire once you become genin, you may change your decision anytime. I will not bring this up among the clan heads and elder council until then." The Sandaime said and he nodded in response, that was acceptable. 

"Thank you for your time, I will take my leave." he gave a small bow before leaving the room. 

Hiruzen watched with a grim look on his face as another ten-year-old was forced to grow up because of the harshness of Shinobi world. He would have to call Itachi to tell him about his younger brother's decisions. If only things were different. 

\---- 

"You _ what _ ?" Naruto yelled when Sasuke told him what he had been up to after their classes.

"I told the Hokage about my decision regarding the clan. And I want to ask you if you're okay with it." Sasuke replied calmly,  _ calm _ , how was he so calm, Naruto was going insane. He always talked about being an Uchiha with pride, took care of the compound because he wanted to honour the memories of his clanmates, so what happened, and wait, ask him- 

"..What do you mean to ask  _ me?"  _ He asked because this was too much for a single day. 

"Naruto, you live with me in the Uchiha compound, of course, I'll ask how you feel about it" Naruto was surprised, he didn't think Sasuke thought of him living there as anything more than a sleepover, a very long one. 

"I-I'm okay with whatever you want to do, it's your place." He managed to say between all those feelings. "Sasuke..." he hesitated for a second, biting his lower lip, ".... did you find something in  _ his  _ room that bought on these decisions." 

Sasuke shook his head, he couldn't tell him that he remembered his past lives and was actually a few thousand years old after all, and also his older brother. "No, I have been thinking about it for a while" nope, he could've never even dreamt of dissolving his clan before yesterday. "I want to start fresh, as Uchiha Sasuke, not the last Uchiha, Itachi's brother, clan head, or whatever I may be to others." 

Naruto nodded, he could understand that, how desperately he had himself wished he could start new, without the glares and whispers this time. 

"Okay, that's okay."

\----

Naruto was really,  _ really _ concerned. Sasuke was having more nightmares than usual, they always slept on their own futons, but in the same room, so he could hear him every night. He would wake up to the sound of his friend panting and gasping, murmuring names in his sleep, crying. Sasuke  _ never  _ cried. Never. Sometimes he would wake up on his own and his eyes would head straight to Naruto. He'd look at him in desperation and grief and take a long time calming down. 

So he decided that he wasn't gonna let his best friend suffer in silence, because one the sun was up, Sasuke never mentioned the nightmares, so Naruto kept quiet. But even he knew this wasn't healthy. So the next time Sasuke woke up shaken and crying, Naruto slid into his futon and held his hand. Sasuke looked at him distantly for a few seconds before relaxing against him, " _ Thank you... Ototo"  _

Naruto was 100% sure he had misheard the last word, because what the fuck. He decided it was best to not dwell on it too much. 

Soon it became routine. And slowly the bad dreams and thrashing reduced. 

\----

Itachi did not want to go to Konoha again, it was just too painful. Seeing old comrades, the academy where he learnt, the protectiveness of the trees, the empty compound, the lively streets, the familiar view of the Hokage mountain, he hated being there only to be stripped of it again. Because he wasn't welcome here, not the clan killed Uchiha Itachi. But the Sandaime had asked for him to come, and both of them knew the risks of that. So it must be important. 

_ Sasuke. _

His brain thought of his brother when he got the message, was he alright? was he safe? did Danzo mess around his brother? was he okay? but Itachi knew he could never be okay again, he had to become strong to survive, had to live with ghosts because of the mistakes of the godforsaken clan. His fist clenched involuntarily as he thought about the clan. If only they weren't so power-hungry and desperate for perfection. The clan would have broken his brother's spirit before he became a genin that way. They had already started too. 

He checked once, twice, making sure that the Hokage was alone in his office before letting himself in, not in his Akatsuki cloak for once. 

"Hokage-sama" he gave a slight bow, more of out habit than respect at this point. 

"Ah, Itachi-kun, it's ...good to see you" 

"What was so urgent? Is Sasuke safe?" he asked, directly getting to the point, he wasn't here to exchange formalities with him. 

"Yes, he is safe. There have been some circumstances I need to inform you of" he raised a single eyebrow in question, a signal for him to go on. 

"Your brother has made a decision to open the Uchiha compound for sale, I've stalled it till he reaches the genin rank, but I can't do anything after that if he is firm in his decision." the Sandaime spoke quietly, his chin on his hands. 

Itachi was surprised, he never expected that, but then again, he didn't know the kind of person Sasuke was now. Maybe it will be better for him to be surrounded by actual people and not ghosts. 

"I have no objections to that"

"I thought so, well, your brother has also decided to dissolve the Uchiha clan, he mentioned he has no intention of continuing his line, of course, I've held that off until he reaches chunin rank, but I can't force him, after all, he would have a hundred per cent affirmative from the clan seeing as....." 

_ as they were all dead  _

Itachi didn't know what to say, Sasuke had been  _ fiercely _ proud of being an Uchiha since forever, how much has he changed his brother...?

".... when did he tell you?" 

"A year ago, I contacted you right after, but it was difficult to get a hold of you" he nodded numbly. He didn't know what to make of this, he didn't have any right to give his opinion, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe that the Hokage went through all that just to inform him. 

"What do you think of this?" 

"It won't look good for the village if one of its founding clans was dissolved, I was hoping you'd be able to change his mind" the Hokage's voice was grim but it didn't stop the anger from bubbling in him.

"And what do you want me to do?! Threaten him? Push him more?!" he snapped, Sharingan whirling, the man in question stiffened, but before anything else could happen he calmed himself.

"I'm going to pay my little brother a visit" he answered emotionlessly and lept out of the window as fast as he could. How much would the village take? Why did it only take and take and take and why was it never enough? Was Sasuke going to be another nameless leaf who didn't weigh anything when compared to the tree? No, he would make sure Sasuke grew strong, strong enough to live and survive. He was loyal to the Kohona that kept his brother safe. He would crush his heart once again and bear the anger and hatred on Sasuke's face to keep him alive. Safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned this earlier as well, but some characters are going to be OC. So I hope no one is bothered by that because I cannot stick to Kishimoto's versions of their personality while following my own storyline. 
> 
> follow my ig: @/itachi_supremacy if you want I GUESS.


	4. itachi; unexpected turns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi meets his brother once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is one thing i'd to clear. though the pairings in the tags are ItaNaru that is not going to happen for a long, long time. Not until they're both older. much older. Naruto is older in mind and im not even sure if i want to include romance in this book at this point, we'll see as it progress. 
> 
> so the only real ship at this point of time is sasuke x tomatoes rn lol. 
> 
> happy reading :)
> 
> ((also, the inspiration for oil in those branches instead of water comes of Ōtsutsuki Legacy by Arthuria_PenDragon))

"Naruto, _no_ , please, I can cook dinner," Sasuke said trying to be patient as he took the utensil in the said boy's hand carefully. "What the hell, Sasuke-teme! Do you think I can't cook or what? I'll make food ten times better than you!" Naruto retorts trying to take back his cooking equipment. 

"But you don't even like to cook!"

"I wanna today!"

"Some other day okay? Maybe when you're older." Sasuke says and then bites his tongue. He has to remember than this is Naruto, who's at most six months younger to him, not a few years. Thankfully the other doesn't seem to notice the slip and pouts and goes away, yelling about what a 'bastard' his roommate is. Sasuke snorts, who'd complain about _not_ having to do work. Except for Naruto of course. 

He starts working on the curry he's making, from his mother's recipe book. He remembers helping her make it whenever Itachi was working late and they'd wait for him together. It doesn't hurt as much as he imagined. He feels better, almost as if his mother could watch him make her favourite foods. Maybe it's because he's lived for so long that the pain is easier to handle. But in this life, he is Sasuke more than is Indra. Just like the last time he was Madara more than he was Indra.

It's alright though, he knows he's not alone. Not when Naruto is in the living room setting up the dining table while grumbling about not getting to make ramen for dinner. He is not alone. 

\----

Itachi is perched on the tree outside his former home. He never expected to be here ever again. To see his home empty and quiet while he remembers the compound to never be empty. There were always some people found outside on the roads at any given time, except _that_ night, of course, no one was out that day.

He doesn't know what to feel about seeing Sasuke at home. From where he is, he can only see the kitchen through the window, where his brother is making food on the stove, he looks relaxed, content even. Itachi is happy that Sasuke is fine, really, he is. But he can't help but wonder what made him take such drastic decisions regarding their clan. He doesn't want to show himself and ruin his brother's life once again, to destroy whatever sort of peace he has finally found. He thinks of turning away and reporting to the Hokage that he isn't going to meddle in his politics anymore, and maybe threaten him about ever trying to push Sasuke into doing what the council wants. 

But just as he is about to leave a wire catches his foot, in surprise, Itachi forgets to move quickly and is pulled down from the tree. 

Sasuke is standing right in front of him, he blinks once, twice, and looks back at the kitchen activating his Sharingan, the image of his brother melts away leaving an empty kitchen. 

Genjutsu. 

Since when did Sasuke know Genjutsu? 

Now that he is settled he effortlessly frees himself and looks at his brother properly. He looks well, but his eyes are a whirlpool of emotion. He also stays silent where he is standing instead of attacking him in rage. 

"Sasuke," he says evenly, no emotion in his voice. 

"What are you doing here you murderer?" Sasuke's voice is so full of silent anger that Itachi startles. His brother had always been an open book to him, quick to anger and no restraint on that said anger. He stays quiet because he has nothing to say. 

"Go away. Don't come back, I don't need you destroying everything once again." his brother says and steps back, his kunai still in hand. Itachi is _very_ surprised, he had expected Sasuke to hate him, and one day grow strong enough to kill him and avenge his family, it was his final atonement for his sins, but here his brother was, dismissing him clearly, was his brother strong enough to avoid the curse of hatred that existed in their very blood? 

"Oh? I see you've forgotten what I've done, Do you not want to kill me anymore? Avenge mother and father? The-"

"No matter what you do I won't become a _kin killer_ like you!" his brother hissed, his Sharingan coming to life. Itachi took half a step back as if slapped. His brother had the Mangekyou. How did he get those eyes?

"Sasuke! Teme what are you doing I'm hungry 'ttebayo!" Itachi's eyes focused on the new presence among them. Uzumaki Naruto. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki. For the first time since that night, he saw panic in his younger brother's eyes. 

"Hey who is this weirdo-"

"Naruto! Go back inside!" his brother yelled and stood in front of the blonde protectively. 

"Wha- is this... _him_?" the jinchuriki asked and once again Itachi found himself surprised. Sasuke trusted someone enough to tell him about that night, about Itachi, and Sasuke was ready to stand in front of him facing him to protect that person. He really didn't know his brother after all. Maybe if he killed the Uzumaki his brother would finally break and kill him. But Itachi didn't want to kill another innocent child ever again. He didn't want to take away Sasuke's happiness again. 

"So I see you've made friends Ototo. What makes you think you'll be able to keep them safe? You're weak." 

"Hey! Who're you calling weak huh?! Sasuke's a hundred times better than you are and I'm-"

"Naruto, please, run away. He'll hurt you if you're here, I'll hold him off, please, I can't see you hurt again," Itachi heard Sasuke say quietly, only the chakra enhanced ears would be able to pick the voice. Naruto didn't look convinced at all, he looked at Itachi straight in the eye. And when was the last time someone looked him in the eye? No one in Akatsuki did. Everyone knew to avoid the Uchiha's Sharingan if you wanted to avoid death. 

Before he could make a move or trap both of them in a genjutsu and leave, Naruto fell to the floor holding his head as if in pain. Sasuke was by his side in an instant, holding him and calling his name. Itachi stayed still, his mind whirling. Was this something to do with the Kyuubi? Was the seal weakening? Was it something about looking him in the eyes that made him like this? 

By the time Naruto finally calmed down, he was out of breath and sweating. His eyes too seemed different, a bit confused, a bit incredulous. His gaze straight away went to Sasuke. 

"...... Indra-nii?" he whispered, Itachi did not understand what he meant by that but whatever it meant, it was enough to shock Sasuke completely, his brother took a step back, and another, looking at Naruto in surprise. 

"Asura?" he asked, his voice was full of expectance and a bit of hesitance. 

"It's really you!" the jinchuriki yelled and flung himself at the raven, hugging him tightly. Sasuke was embracing him back just as enthusiastically. 

"....I can feel Kurama," the blonde said and both the boy's eye's widened. Itachi had enough by now, his brother was safe and the jinchuriki was stable. He had no reason to be here any longer. He'll tell the Hokage to not bother him again unless his brother was in danger and go away. It was clear that Sasuke did not wish to kill him anymore, he was content with his life and that was what Itachi wanted more than anything. 

He stepped back and was about to blend into the shadows when a tendril caught his ankle. Before he could move his whole body was caged by branches of a tree. He looked up to see that Naruto was holding his hand in a seal. 

Mokuton? 

"Don't try using fire to escape, these are filled with oil instead of water," Sasuke said sharply and the blonde looked at him in surprise for a moment but then he smiled and focused his attention back to Itachi. 

"What do you want to do with him Sasuke?" Naruto asked and Itachi watched as his brother was silent for a moment before he shook his head, "We'll hand him over to the Hokage, he is a missing-nin and should be treated as such," he replied. 

But Naruto wasn't listening to him, he was looking straight at Itachi with eyes full of confusion. Itachi felt like he was being dissected. He couldn't afford to move right now, he had never countered the Mokuton before. How did this boy even have it? 

"Sasuke... I'm sensing no negative emotions from him. He is so full of grief and.... regret. He also had an overwhelming amount of love and protectiveness for you.." he said warily, looking at Sasuke for his reaction. 

Itachi felt his heart stop beating. A sensor. No, no, no. Sasuke would never know the truth about their clan, about their disgrace. He wouldn't let it happen, forgetting about being discrete, he moved to try and free himself but the vines holding him only tightened their hold. 

Sasuke looked at him, and in one swift movement knocked him out. Itachi would vaguely hear the two boys talking. 'How did my little brother learn to fight like that?' was his last thought before he fell unconscious. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh i just want to add that  
> \- acc to this book, asura and indra died fairly young. they were married and had children, but they passed away around the age of 25-30


	5. kurama; family

Kurama remembers a time when he had siblings. Eight of them who were just like him. Two others who were a little different in size and appearance but they were  _ family _ . He remembers his father, his teachings, the shrines he built for the nine of them. He remembers playing in the grass and among the trees when he was a kit. He remembers his father's death and feeling the heart-wrenching grief it bought. Remembers his two oldest brothers fight and kill each other. Remembers how that had made the nine bijuu distant and had left them a little broken.

He remembers his father saying that many years in the future a blue-eyed-youth will bring their family back together. 

He does remember. Even if he pretends he forgets. 

But he also remembers being alone after everyone left, after Shukaku's fun-loving nature had turned crazy once he learned of Asura's death, after Matatabi was almost consumed by her own fiery flames when she learnt that her favourite brother Indra had really killed Asura and died himself. Son Goku had become paranoid and refused to admit weakness. Isobu became even more reserved and shy than before. When Saiken and Chomei tried to be cheerful but even they couldn't admit everything was okay. Gyuuki had left only days after they got to know their siblings had died. 

He remembers how gradually the humans began fighting amongst each other. How their hatred had spread. He could feel it, he tried to isolate himself, and it worked for some time, but then those humans tried to control  _ him  _ for their wars. Because of their hatred. They called him 'Kyuubi'. Which he was and it was something he prided himself for. Nine tails, the oldest bijuu, the strongest. And then they caged him. 

He remembers looking into the cursed eyes which had ripped away Indra's conscious. Had made him turn on his family. And now those eyes were controlling  _ him _ ,  **_ why was it always those eyes? _ **

And then he was sealed, locked away by the power of the man who manipulated wood like Asura __ had once. His descendant had ripped away Kurama's freedom while Asura himself was the most compassionate person he knew. How ironic. 

Kurama hated his jailor. Hated the Senju and Uzumaki and Uchiha alike. Hated the humans. Hated everything. 

He hated his next jailor a little less, she didn't bother him in the seal, didn't try to manipulate him into giving her chakra as the first one had. But more than anything he wanted to be free. And he did break free, only to be controlled by  **_ those eyes _ ** for a second time. And then he was sealed again, this time in a barely hour old child. This time the seal was tighter than ever, he couldn't feel anything. He hated the baby and his parents. 

But Kurama was patient, he would escape again, it was inevitable. He would. He could feel his new jailors grief and pain from inside the seal, the village was directing all their hate at the only person keeping Kurama away from burning them down, he almost snorted. But he didn't care either way, he only cared about escaping. 

But something changed, his jailor was happy lately, his happiness spread through his mind and into Kurama's prison. The sewer-like water he was in before turned into green grass. The jail was still locked, but a little more bearable. It was almost nice after almost a century of seeing nothing living. 

And then Kurama saw it again,  **_ those eyes _ ** , looking at his jailor. He panicked, he wouldn't let himself be controlled again. No, no, no, NEVER! He sent the largest wave of chakra he could and roared. He couldn't feel anything from the outside, it was making him more panicked. 

And then  _ everything  _ changed. His seal was blooming with flowers and trees, there was a lake in there, a sunny sky of a warm day. But that wasn't what shocked Kurama the most, it was the chakra. The familiar chakra,  _ Ootsutsuki chakra _ .  ** Asura's chakra ** . 

He couldn't believe it, Asura was long dead.  _ Everyone was dead and he was alone _ . But chakra never lied, it never did. It really was Asura's chakra. He knew it. It bought back memories and feelings long buried. 

_ "A blonde-eyed youth will bring our family together." _

He had forgotten it, hadn't he? More like he refused to acknowledge it, but he should've known, Father was never wrong. 

For the first time in centuries, he felt something other than hate and loneliness. 

\----- 

Naruto stood beside Itachi's unconscious form a little awkwardly, it was very easy to accept Sasuke as Indra in the heat of the moment. But now the adrenaline had gone away and he didn't know how to deal with the situation. The Sharingan and Kurama's chakra had reawoken his memories, it had given him back his chakra. It was all a little overwhelming. Because right now he was  _ Naruto  _ first and Asura second. His other reincarnations were even more distant memories. 

And as Naruto, he was Sasuke's best friend, his roommate even. But as Asura, he was Indra's little brother, later his enemy. It was a little surreal to think that this Indra was no longer wanting to kill him. Some part of him felt at rest. 

"Let's take him inside. There are privacy seals surrounding the compound but we can't hide his presence in the open." Sasuke said after a quiet moment and Naruto nodded. Sasuke picked Itachi up and hoisted him over his shoulder, Naruto frowned, there was something wrong about the man, he was sick. 

Once they were back inside their silence was uncomfortable once again. 

"Maybe you should finish the curry we were planning to have while I keep watch over him," Naruto said and Sasuke snorted. 

"You never change, do you?" he said fondly shaking his head. Naruto had an urge to pout childishly. He was technically a child, so he did. Sasuke patted his hair and his face turned into a small smile. Because now Naruto remembers, Indra used to pat his head all the time when they were children. He could finally see the same person in Sasuke once again. 

"Naruto, I-. Um, I don't really know how to apologise, for everything... I also need to tell you some things about a creature of the shadows that I never got to, I don't know how to start." Naruto could see Sasuke's attempts to make amends, he had always been bad with words. Years of not talking to anyone about your feelings would do that to you. 

"Let us start by meeting Kurama again. I vaguely remember seeing him through Hashirama but it is very unclear. He must have grown so much!" Naruto smiled. 

"As you wish. He is sealed in you so you'll have to break the seal first for me to meet him, I don't think he'll appreciate seeing the Sharingan anytime soon" the ' _ or me' _ went unsaid. Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, entering their mindscape. 

It took him a minute but when he opened his eyes he was standing in front of huge iron gates. A prison. On the other side was Kurama, lying on green grass and looking straight at him. 

"Holy Gods you've gotten so big!" he exclaimed almost involuntary when he took in the size of the Bijuu. 

Kurama made a sound of disbelieving, "It really is you..." the deep voice said. 

"Your voice has changed so much too!" he added. 

Kurama looked at him closely, eyes looking as if they were searching his soul, "Prove it, that you are him. What's my name?" 

Naruto remembered somewhere in his mind that the Bijuu's were only known by the number of their tails nowadays, it was a little sad. He rolled his eyes and went closer to the cage, "Ne Kurama, who else would it be."

The Bijuu's eyes had become wide with shock, but Naruto could see the relief in them. 

"How is this possible?" he asked at last. 

"Aaah, I don't really know, Indra would probably be able to explain that part, I couldn't exactly understand it," he replied. Kurama laughed, a deep laugh that echoed all around the place, it made Naruto smile. 

"It's you Asura! No one else can be that dense."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean," he said mock offended. "Just wait for a little, I'll open this stupid seal right away," he added.

"No. I can't leave, you'll die. Everyone dies once the Bijuu is extracted," Kurama said shaking his head, his eyes were worried. Naruto felt his own expression soften. 

"Don't worry about it, I can feel my chakra like before. Ootsutsuki chakra is dense enough to survive the extraction multiple times. Father did it as well, remember?" 

"NO! I can't go amongst all these people. The shrines have probably been destroyed since I've been sealed so long" the fox argued back. Naruto looked at him for a long moment before chuckling. "Aw, Kurama if you want to stay with me longer just say so, I'm just giving you the option of leaving," he teased back. 

"... Everyone goes away, Father died, you and Indra died, all the other's went away, I don't want to be alone any longer," At this moment Naruto could see the same Kurama he had done years ago. A few years old and scared of being alone, he was just a kit back then. 

"Don't worry Kura, Indra and I are not fighting anymore, this time I won't leave you until it is my time to pass on," he said affectionately and the fox sighed, lying down on the ground. "I'm opening the seal now," 

He observed the eight-trigram-seal for some time before he started opening it, it was down to two layers left when a hand stopped him. 

"YONDAIME!" Kurama shouted angrily with his tails swishing behind him, Naruto looked at him with a stern gaze, "Don't act like a kit Kurama, behave." The fox huffed but settled down, still keeping a keen eye on the new addition to the room. Naruto turned to observe the man, the Yondaime, he had been his hero during his second childhood. And he was standing right in front of him. 

"Naruto," the man said kindly though there was surprise in his voice. 

"You know me?!" he exclaimed and the man furrowed his brows. 

"Ah, so the Sandaime didn't tell you. Yes, I know you, after all, I was the one who named you." 

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised the implications of that. It seemed so obvious now, they looked so similar!

"Dad..." he said hesitantly and watched the man tear up a little. 

"Yes, I'm so happy to see you, though I wish we could've met differently. I didn't expect to see you until at least a few years later, this is not the time to mess with the seal Naruto," he said gently, his eyes were so full of love that Naruto teared up himself. At first, he had believed his parents were either traitors or didn't want him. Then Jiji told him they died in the Kyuubi attack and that he was sure they loved him. Naruto had always hoped they had but he couldn't always believe that they did. He had wondered if they would have hated him like the rest of the village had. 

But looking at his father now he only saw love and a little longing. 

"I- no, I have to open the seal, he won't attack the village,"

"I do believe that one day you'll be able to control the Kyuubi's power, but you're too young right now," the man replied gently. Naruto furrowed his brows, "I don't want to control his powers, I just don't want to see him locked up," 

Something like realisation passes through the other's eyes, "Oh. I see. Only Kushina's son would be able to make friends with a Bijuu," he says fondly, and he can see it. Kushina had always described the seal as a dark and dim prison where the Kyuubi was chained up. Naruto's seal was full of life, trees and lakes and warm sunshine. He really wondered what sort of a life did his son have to lead to make friends with an ancient chakra monster. 

"Kushina was my mother?" 

"Yes, Uzumaki Kushina, she should appear here once you try to pull the Kyuubi's chakra,"

"I'll get to meet her?" Naruto's eyes were so hopeful it hurt, not being able to speak he nodded and watched his son's face turn into a bright smile. 

"Naruto, I don't have much time left. I want to tell you that I love you and I'm proud of you. No matter what you choose to do in the future I'll always believe in you," Naruto could only sniffle as he hugged his father for the first time in his life. He let himself focus on his father's hand on his head until he felt him starting to fade away. 

"Goodbye, I'll do you proud, Tou-san," he rubbed his eyes and watched Minato smile as he faded away. He was silent for a few moments before he continued working on unravelling the seal. 

He hummed in satisfaction once the formula matched and the gates of the prison flew open. He ran inside and hugged the Bijuu's snout. Kurama purred content and shuffled to accommodate the small human between his tails. 

"Kurama, do you want to see Indra?" He's Sasuke now though." the blonde said after some time. 

"The traitor Indra or the mother hen?" he shot back after a moment. 

"The mother hen," 

"Mhm, we'll see. I could feel it you know, once he changed. His chakra changed too, it was darker, agitated, cold. There was an outer influence on him," Kurama continued. 

"He did tell me something about the creature of the shadows. Said we have to talk about it."

"I'll join," The nine-tailed-fox declared. 

\---- 

An hour passed before Naruto opened his eyes again. During this time Sasuke had placed chakra sealing seals on Itachi and had placed him on the bed in his room. He had bound his feet and arms to the posts and shut all windows with safety seals. He didn't expect the older to wake up until the next morning but when you're dealing with Uchiha Itachi you can never be too paranoid. He also did not have anything else to do while he was waiting for Naruto and he was growing restless. 

He was frustrated, he wanted to tell Naruto how much he regretted his actions, how sorry he was, how he wanted more than anything to atone for his sins. But the words did not come out. He  _ didn't know _ how to put his feeling into words. So he decided he'll do what he does best, prove his resolve through his actions. Naruto always talked enough for the both of them after all. 

"SASUKE!" he heard a voice yell and he left his brother's old room to walk into the living room. 

"Must you yell so late at night," he rolled his eyes. 

"Don't start talking like an old man now," Naruto retorted. "So what of Itachi?" he asked. 

Sasuke shrugged, "I'm going to wait for him to wake up and then confront him. I want answers. I'm going to cross-check later with his memories of course," and he would, no matter his older brother, he would use the Magekyou to read his memories, he wouldn't risk Naruto's safety for anything. Naruto nodded in understanding. 

"I met my father. He was the Yondaime," he said without preamble and Sasuke gaped at him, his father was the  _ Hokage _ . 

"Let's talk about everything over some curry, it's way past your dinner time." Sasuke replied finally and made way to the kitchen, ignoring Naruto's snort and the 'Definitely the mother hen.' from the background. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Sasuke have Asura's and Indra's memories and chakra, their powers. They remember being them once upon a time. But right now they are Naruto and Sasuke. Asura and Indra have already lived once. I just wanted to make this clear since Sasuke and Naruto will act more like they are than what their reincarnations had been.
> 
> Also the reason why Kurama is quick to accept meeting Sasuke (whom he remembers as Indra) is because he knew Indra was being influenced back during the era of the sage. All the bijuu could see that something was wrong. They are made of chakra and they can sense when a person's chakra is acting different or mutated. 
> 
> Thats all for this chapter, please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments <33
> 
> English is not my native language so there may be errors, im srsly not used to talking in english at all.


	6. shikamaru; puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> itachi:  
> sasuke: ...  
> itachi: .....  
> naruto: ..  
> naruto: oh for fucks sake pull it together you two!

It was a warm, bright morning, Shikamaru lay on the roof of his house, watching the cotton-like clouds as they floated in the blue sky. He was a generally easy-going and unmotivated person. He did not go out of his way to accomplish things, nor did he like excess of attention. He was happy the way his life was rolling out. Keyword being 'was'. 

There was nothing that motivated him more than a mystery. And the most recent mystery that had wormed its way in his mind was the relationship between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. They had always been friends, he supposed. Somewhere along their first year in the academy, they had started sitting together, having lunch together, walking back home together. One might think it was simply because the Uchiha had lost everyone and related to the blonde boy, cue the friendship. But Shikamaru knew this was not it. 

The first few days after the massacre Sasuke had been withdrawn, cold, angry. Then it seemed that all those emotions were squashed down and what remained was tiredness. Then he made friends with Naruto, the usually happy and energetic child who was for some reason hated by parents and teachers alike. How he remained sane amongst all that contempt was something Shikamaru couldn't fathom. And Sasuke reaching out to him? Being protective? Shikamaru knew that if it was him who had lost his entire family, _his entire clan_ , (Shikamaru got shivers just thinking about it), he would be wary of getting close to anyone for a long while. Especially with the killer still on the loose. But those two were practically joined to the hip. 

Then things changed again, approximately a year back. Starting with them officially moving together into the Senju compound. 

\-----

[one year back, kohonagakure]

Sasuke and Naruto had beside Itachi, waiting for the older Uchiha to wake up. Last night had been tiring, both emotionally and physically. Naruto loved his brother, his best friend, but he couldn't help but feel this was some cruel dream and he would wake up only to see his brother's sword aimed at him. He forcefully shook those thoughts out of his head, Sasuke was here, for good. He needs to get used to that. He focused on the pale young boy in front of him. He was so thin. Naruto was sure the Uchiha was sick. 

He could feel Sasuke's hesitance, fear, confusion, anger, hope, from across him. It must be hard for him, seeing his brother after all these years only to have everything he had thought about the older man coming crashing down. It was another half an hour before Itachi woke up. He woke up but kept his eyes shut and breathing completely even for some time. Both Naruto and Sasuke knew off course, but mere genin or low chunin wouldn't be able to catch that the man was awake. 

"Drop it, Itachi, we know you're awake," Sasuke said after a few minutes, seemingly reaching the end of his patience. The older opened his eyes, to his credit he didn't show any shock or desperation, nor did he made any move to escape or let any expression show on his face. 

"Sasuke."

Sasuke took a long breath, mentally counting to three before exhaling. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'SASUKE' HUH? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!" Itachi's face betrayed a bit of surprise at that, what was he expecting?

"You should tell us what happened to your clan. We know that you didn't kill everyone to test your skills. Don't bother lying, I'll know," Naruto said before the two brothers could continue. Itachi's eyes snapped to him for the first time since he opened them. He still didn't speak, looking at him intensely. 

"Itachi. You better start talking before we start poking through your memories," when Sasuke said this there was a brief flash of panic on his face, but it was gone and replaced with a perfect mask a moment later. 

"So you have a Yamanaka in on this little investigation of your's Ototo? Impressive, for your age." This was the first sentence he had spoken since waking up. Sasuke seemed to be struggling with controlling his emotions. 

"Itachi-niisan, please, tell me, what happened that night? Did someone make you take the blame? Why was I spared?" Sasuke's voice sounded similar to how Asura used to beg him and tell him to come back home that Naruto flinched back. This did not go unnoticed by either of the Uchiha brothers. Sasuke looked at him with concern while Itachi was blank. 

"I should leave, you guys talk. Sasuke, flair your chakra if you want to call me," he said and left the room before anyone could say anything. 

.

"Sasuke...." Itachi sighed as he looked up at his brother. 

"Niisan please, you can't do everything by yourself, I learnt that the hard way, don't repeat my mistakes," his brother said. 

"Sasuke... you're so young. You don't know about all the-"

"Then tell me, I'm not as young as you think. And I deserve to know."

Itachi sighed heavily, there was a lot of hesitation in his tone, but he started. "Twelve years ago, the attack of the Kyuubi on Konoha....."

\------

[11 months ago, konohagakure]

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked in shock at the two young boys in his office. "Excuse me?" he said, trying to make a sense of what he was hearing. The Uchiha rolled his eyes but Naruto simply repeated himself. 

"I said that I want you to open the Senju compounds. It is my right to live there," the blonde boy said. 

"Naruto, I assure you that your parents aren't Senju, the last known members of that clan are recorded. And even if they were, no one has been able to step in the Senju compounds since Mito-hime passed away. Her blood seals are very strong." And it was true, Mito-sama's seals were very strong, not even Jiraiya had been able to deconstruct him. Danzo had tried to have his ROOT enter the compound to get the Shodaime's and Nidaime's scrolls and journals but even he gave up after many failed attempts. Tsunade had refused to step into the compound ever since her brother had died and soon after the war she left, it had been _years_ since anyone stepped inside. He wondered what the boy was thinking. 

"So Mito's seals still work...." Naruto whispered to Sasuke when the Hokage was lost in thoughts. "That's good, we need the privacy," his friend replied and he nodded. 

"I know I'm not a Senju, Hokage-sama," Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up 'Hokage-sama?' "But I am an Uzumaki, my mother, as well as Mito-sama, were from the mainline of the Uzumaki clan, the wards will allow me in," he said and Hiruzen made a gesture to ask all ANBU to leave me alone. 

"How do you know that?" he asked urgently and Naruto almost snorted. 

"I met my father, he had added his chakra imprints on my seal."

"So you know about the Kyuubi..." the Sandaime sighed heavily again, taking a long puff of his pipe.

"Yes."

"This is supposed to be an S-class secret Naruto, you can't tell _anybody_." he tried putting all the emphasis he could on his words.

"It's not like everyone doesn't know already." This was the first time the Uchiha spoke up. He looked at him with such hate in his eyes that Hiruzen wondered what had he done to earn that look. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered that Itachi never reported back to him, and Sasuke didn't bring up any meeting with his brother. He cast that thought away immediately, Itachi was nothing but loyal, even more to Sasuke than to the village. He wouldn't risk the boy's safety like this. Plus the boy didn't make any move to leave the village or speak out against the authorities, this was proof enough. 

"Jiji?!" Naruto tapped his foot impatiently and Hiruzen was snapped out of his thoughts. 

He gave them both a long look before conceding, "Very well. I'll take you there."

\---- 

A few days later Naruto was buzzing with barely controlled excitement as he stood outside the gates of the Senju compound. Sasuke was standing beside him, a constant support. The Hokage was also present with them, along with a few ANBU. Naruto could remember this house through flashes of Hashirama's memories, everything here was made of chakra infused wood. The spiritual energy all around was highest he'd felt anywhere in the village. The compound itself was located deep into the woods, almost like in a village of its own. It was not as big as the Uchiha compound, almost half in size, but still too big for only too people. 

"Can we go? JIJI!" Naruto yelled as he looked towards the Hokage. 

"Yes Naruto, but first you should know you have to be careful, many people have tried entering the gates. If you have any ill-intent you'll get a minor electrocu-"

"WOAH! THIS IS SO PRETTY!" he was cut off by Naruto's excited shouting as the boy walked through the gates and observed the compound entrance.

Hiruzen's mouth snapped shut with an audible click. Sasuke had to suppress a laugh looking at the Hokage's expression. The old man probably thought the boy won't be able to enter the compound. 

"SASUKE COME INSIDE I MODIFIED THE SEALS TO ALLOW YOU IN," he heard Naruto's voice come from somewhere inside and walked through the gates without hesitation, if anyone knew their seals, it was Naruto. Hiruzen stood there for several long moments. Imagine, an Uchiha getting access to the Senju compound. He could already imagine the headache he'd get when this event was discussed in the council meeting. And Danzo did not disappoint.

"Sarutobi, you're being a fool. Giving the Jinchuriki access to Mito-hime's and Tobirama-sensei's sealing notes, you should have the boy take everything of importance and give it to us. Or even better, have him remove the seals so that we can go inside." the old Warhawk said when he informed the council of what happened. Hiruzen could hardly believe he would suggest such a thing. It was also impossible to _force_ Naruto to do what they want. And considering his parentage, the boy would only grow and prosper to become a sealmaster, Konoha had Jiraiya, but Minato was in a whole different league. 

"Do you mean to say you have the right to take their clan secrets?" Hiashi Hyuuga asked Danzo with a frown.

"The Senju is no more a clan- and everything they have is for the village-"

"Do not forget the clan laws, the village has no right to clan secrets. This was signed in the charter when the clans joined the village." Shikaku interrupted him, Danzo had truly gone too far, insulting the clan rights would cause havoc. 

"The Senju and Uzumaki are all but one compound anyway, let the pup have his home. You can't take him away from his packhouse," Tsume Inuzuka said and Hiruzen nodded. 

"Of course, that hasn't even thought my mind, I'm glad we could come to an agreement," he said and blissfully ignored Danzo's expression. The various clan heads nodded and he called off the meeting. Now only if his old friend would drop it, 

\-----

[9 months ago, konohagakure]

"You need what?" Shikamaru gaped at his two classmates.

"There is a drug that can be made _only_ from the antlers of the Rikumaru, a deer which your clan houses. So as the Uchiha Clan head, I ask the Nara clan for a favour." Sasuke spoke, Shikaku was standing quietly to the side, looking at him with a searching gaze. If Sasuke wasn't used to speaking under his father's harsh gaze, he probably would have faltered. He was a lot of experience as Indra too. 

"You do know what owing a clan means, don't you?" he spoke finally. 

His fists clenched at his sides as he met the Nara's eyes. "Yes, Nara-dono, but I'm afraid what I need is something only you can give me," he says, remembering the amount of importance Naruto had placed on getting the required drug _or else_. "And anything that is possible, I will do to uphold this favour."

"I see. Very well, the Nara clan will help the Uchiha," he spoke after a long moment of consideration. 

"Thank you, Nara-dono," he said relieved. Sasuke still contemplated on ending his clan, but maybe he won't dissolve it. When he dies the clan will die out anyway. He wasn't having any kids, _ever_. 

That day he went home very happy. He couldn't quite believe they had managed to keep Itachi hidden inside the clan compound for over three months. He was so glad to have his older brother back, but he couldn't quite forget that he was also the one to kill their kin, no, _forced too._ Because of the Sandaime, **Danzo.** His rage didn't subside even months after processing it. His brother was also sick, like seriously sick. It took Naruto three months to come up with a formula that would cure his illness. And it needed the Nara clans deer. Sasuke would do anything for family, that hadn't changed through the numerous lives he's lived. He doesn't even remember his time as Madara or much of Indra after he apparently went insane. His chakra was deeply corrupted back then, it didn't carry over from rebirth. 

Naruto was waiting for him impatiently at the compound gates, and brightened immediately when he saw the beaker in his hand. 

"Great Sasuke! I knew you weren't a total dunderhead," he said as he all but snatched it away and rushed inside. Sasuke would be a little offended at the insult if he wasn't so damned relieved.

"Welcome home, Sasuke." his brother said calmly even as he gave an amused smile at the blonde's antics. It had taken Itachi over a month to start looking Sasuke in the face again. He had a guilt complex that could rival his own. Sasuke, according to Naruto, 'was an idiot who'd probably get himself killed for not knowing how to communicate.' He was also the one who helped Itachi open up to them slowly while Sasuke stood there silently most of the time. 

"I'm home," Sasuke replied as he took off his shoes.

Itachi had an autoimmune disease that he had developed soon after joining ANBU. According to Naruto the only known factor he could think of that contributed to it was chakra exhaustion in the early years. Sasuke was livid when he learnt that his father, Fugaku's harsh training regime for their son, his 'pride' was pushing him towards an early death. He was even angrier at how casually his brother had spoken of it. As if it was a hindrance more than anything else. 

Sasuke refused to think that his brother had been so accepting of his death. He was better now, that's all that mattered. Naruto was working on the medicine, that was what was more important. 

"Man, Itachi if I had to stay inside this place for three months I'd probably go insane. I don't know how you do it... I know the compound is large but still!....." he heard Naruto ramble as he walked passed the dining room to the kitchen. He hid a smile, no one could possibly stay sad when his best friend was nearby. 

\-----

[present]

"Yo! Shikamaru! Don't you have anything to do other than stare at the clouds all day?" Naruto's voice interrupted his nap and he grunted.

"So troublesome. What is your hellion of a bodyguard doing right now?"

Naruto gave a short laugh, "He's probably scolding crows right now, and he's my best friend, not bodyguard," Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to ask. Those two had so many hidden jokes and secrets that this didn't even scratch the surface. 

"Lucky, my old woman would probably come over any time to shout at me to train," he said annoyed. Naruto laughed again, voice to bright Shikamaru absently thought he could rival the sun. Shikamaru liked spending time with Naruto, the boy was fun, surprisingly insightful and smart at times, and always genuine. The blonde never pretended to be someone he's not. He appreciated that.

They sat in silence as they watched the sky.

Naruto and Sasuke's story was a puzzle, and Nara's were known for their intellect, maybe he's missing some pieces right now, but in the end, when everything fits, he'll get a clear picture. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how'd y'all like this chapter? i tried a different way on writing hehe. anyway, i know that a LOT of things aren't clear rn, like does Itachi know about their reincarnation thingy? Does everyone in konoha know that the two boys live in the senju compound? do they know about the plans for akatsuki? does anyone know about the mokuton? there's a lot of things and we'll unravel all that slowly. 
> 
> for this chapter  
> \- i dont know how blood seals work so i just made that stuff up  
> \- the Nara clan do have a deer called rikumaru, who's majestic antlers can be used to make a drug that would have cured itachi's illness, i was quite surprised when i found out.  
> \- i mentioned in the tags that team 7 would be different, can you guess the third member? ;)  
> \- im planning to have tenzo meet naruto next? what do you guys think?


	7. naruto; plotting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shikamaru shut the fuck up challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me updating after more than a month. but in my defence, i had exams. here's 3k+ words of almost pure worldbuilding.

It had been almost one year since Itachi had come back to Konoha. It wasn't the village he once remembered. Or maybe it was his thoughts about the village that had changed. It wasn't easy, seeing his brother again, feeling welcomed in a home again. He was prepared to take the secret about their clan to the grave. The Uchiha would be remembered as a clan of warriors, a clan of protectors. Not a clan that planned a coup against the very village they swore to give their life for. Not that he was impartial to the treatment of their clan by the village. 

When he used to walk the streets of Konoha with his father as a child, people would stop to greet him, thank him for their continued protection. After the Kyuubi attack, they would see the Uchiha and whisper about their cursed eyes, about their power to manipulate the beast that stole their homes and family. He was young back then, he didn't think much of how simple civilians got this knowledge that before this was a guarded secret. Didn't ever imagine that someone in the village would ever spread rumours about their clan, let alone someone part of the Elder Council of Kohona. 

Itachi was the 'perfect shinobi' ever since he could remember. Train hard to bring honour to the clan, to be a suitable heir, to serve the village,  _ to let Sasuke grow up without being pushed too hard, to let him remain a child for as long as possible.  _ He had always been good at following orders. And follow orders he did, he climbed up the ranks, pleased all his superiors, killed without hesitation even though the only thing he ever believed in was non-violence. And then came Danzo's orders. He was naive. He didn't confirm anything with the Hokage and slaughtered his own clan. 

Sasuke is safe, he reasoned with himself. At least he's safe. Alive. 

Joining Akatsuki wasn't hard, not after everything else he'd done. Killing children and defenceless people was still painful, what if that child had been his little brother? But it had to be done. He needed to prove his loyalty. For Konoha. For Sasuke. 

Seeing Sasuke again was hard. Seeing the perfect mix of his parents in his face hurt. But Itachi was a perfect shinobi. He schooled his expression and feelings and obeyed. But his once foolish brother continued to surprise him. He had formed bonds again, he had overcome the curse that ran through their very blood. Seeing Naruto was another surprise, but to be honest, the boy was full of surprises. He had Mokuton, a Kekkei Genkai seen only in the Shodaime, the God of Shinobi. His empathic abilities were less of a mystery, but equally as surprising. The Kyuubi was known to be able to sense emotions, but this level of control over the Bijuu at this age? Never heard of. 

The boy was proficient in the art of sealing despite his age and lack of teachers. It was almost suspicious. There were so many questions he had wanted to ask. About their eyes, their abilities. But he held his tongue. His brother did not owe him anything. The first few months of staying there were hard, full of random outbursts and long painful silences. It was worst when only the Uchiha were present. 

"It's hard. Staying here, I can feel the people's pain, confusion, fear and hate from the night they died. It's like yours but multiplied with over a hundred people." He had overhead Naruto saying to Sasuke, teary-eyed and voice laced with hurt. Itachi could barely control his own emotions when he heard it. Sasuke was silent, but he could make out the blonde breaking into sobs and his younger brother moving to comfort and hold him from outside the room. No one said anything about it, but a few days later they planned to move into the Senju compound. 

Being out of the Uchiha compound was like a breath of fresh air he didn't know he needed until he had it. In contrast to the grief-stricken stagnant land, the Senju compound was ever-growing, full of life and Hashirama trees. They could feel the protectiveness in the trees, the life and happiness in each corner of the compound. Naruto's chakra shined brighter than the sun when he was there. Even Sasuke seemed lighter. He, for the first time, held hope that maybe, maybe things would be better again. 

His movement from the Uchiha to the Senju compound had taken so much planning it was almost comedic. Sasuke had offered to put everyone in a mile near them in a genjutsu as they henged Itachi into a potted plant and carried him. Naruto offered to create an underground tunnel connecting the two compounds and filling it completely once its use was over. Itachi didn't know whether to feel touched or exasperated. In the end, Itachi  _ did  _ henge into a potted plant, but there were no genjutsu's involved. He hoped. 

Life after that was better, there was no risk of anyone entering the compound, Uzumaki seals were superior to all the attempts made to enter the safe haven. There was a reason Kiri and Iwa had to band together to destroy a village half the size of Konoha and still lost almost all their military power. 

Things started to settle in, a routine was established. Itachi cleaned the compound whenever he could, he found out he quite liked gardening. Sasuke and Naruto went to the academy and usually came straight back home. It was sweet, how they tried to make sure he wasn't lonely. Even though he'd rather prefer the two to make friends and socialise than spend their time on him. He had once tried telling Sasuke that subtly but the youngest Uchiha had thrown a fit and it seemed they were coddling him even more after that. 

Then came the topic of their knowledge. 

Out of everything he had suspected and theorised, reincarnation gone wrong was not even anywhere near the list. 

To learn his foolish little brother was actually the founder of their clan was a headache. To learn that Naruto wasn't blessed with Hashirama's ability but  _ Hashirama _ was blessed with  _ Ashura's (AKA Naruto's)  _ Mokuton abilities was another headache. Finding out they were brothers in the past life? Wasn't the hardest thing to believe. It was obvious to anyone who paid attention to the behaviour of the boys around each other that they were impossibly close for having known each other only a few years. Especially considering how harsh both their lives had been. 

It opened a new plane of possibilities. If Sasuke's last incarnation had been Madara, then it was as good as confirmed that the 'Madara' who helped Itachi with the massacre of the clan wasn't Madara at all. One evening, as they sat and talked about a being called 'Zetsu', (and who knew Zetsu was the one pulling the strings in the Akatsuki?) Sasuke told them that all he remembered from Madara's life was before his final fight with Hashirama where he cheated death with Izanagi.

The forbidden Uchiha jutsu might've bought him back to life, but the soul fragment of 'Indra' that resided in Madara had passed on, and was later born once again with Sasuke. Naruto's last memories were grieving for Tobirama when he gave his life to protect his genin team, the current Hokage and Elders of the village. Losing his best friend, and then his brother, he had spiralled into depression and only Mito and his children could bring him to smile anymore. 

On one such day, he had ventured into a small clearing in the village and let our all his pent up grief and energy into creating the 'Forest of Death'. The most dangerous training ground in Konoha. The forest with infused with such a ridiculous amount of Natural chakra that the animals and insects growing there underwent evolution rapidly and grew up to be the enormous beasts they are today. The nerdy part of Itachi felt privileged to know this, the first Hokage had always been his biggest inspiration. 

Both of them had blurry memories, only their time as Ashura and Indra fresh in their minds. But first and foremost, they were Naruto and Sasuke, though Sasuke tended to slip up and call Naruto 'little brother' once in a while. For some reason, it always made Itachi laugh. 

______

Naruto was eleven years old, plus a few centuries of memories for extra measure, he did not need to be coddled. Yes, he knows not to go out alone after sunset because people aren't very kind to him, he knows not to accept verbal abuse from villagers without saying anything like he had been doing all his life. He  _ knows _ that telling the Sandaime about the way the general public treated him did make his everyday life a lot easier. Old man Hokage had been genuinely hurt to know that Naruto didn't tell him about his struggles before and did something that made the people shut up and strictly ignore him. 

It did help, yes, but it was hard when you could feel everyone's emotions anyway. Silence did not mean their hate disappeared. No more overpriced items did not mean he did not feel the disgust of the shopkeepers as he stepped in. Fair grading and marks did not mean he couldn't feel the repulsion his teachers felt when they had to talk to him. Just because it wasn't done outright anymore did not mean it was less. 

Sasuke wasn't an idiot either, though pleased about the development, he still worried about him, thus leading to an overprotective shadow following him everywhere. Of course, Shikamaru was the first to point it out, but that didn't mean that the others in school hadn't noticed. Everyone wanted to be on good terms with the rookie of the year, last of the clan, Uchiha Sasuke, and so they were good to him too. It made it a little nicer that there were many in their class who genuinely did want to be his friends, even though it might've been due to different reasons initially.

He wondered who would he be in a team with? Sasuke was an obvious member, keeping the last pair of Sharingan in the village close to their Jinchurki was ideal. Their third member would most probably be a civilian, probably a Kunoichi. To balance out their team, two clan heads and one civilian born huh? A good incentive to bring the clan children and civilian students together, but not very practical. Given that without any formal clan training Naruto was as good as a normal civilian child, but he still had Uzumaki blood running through his veins, reincarnation or not. Same with Sasuke. The village's negative opinion of the Jinchuriki factor and reverence of the Last Uchiha would also be most prominently seen in the civilian mindset. It was simple facts. 

Not that he could make any changes to his team. Granted, the Hokage let him get away with a lot of things (not that he caused mischief now,  ** much ** ) but that didn't mean he could go and demand a selective team member. Probably. 

There wasn't much he could do about this, so he'd let it go. 

That would be something a person who  _ wasn't _ Uzumaki Naruto would say. 

As for him, he had already made a list of potential future candidates for his and Sasuke's team. It was most likely going to be a Kunoichi, Top of their class, and someone with good chakra control. Based on whatever he remembered from Tobirama's long speeches of choosing perfect and balanced teams, this was what applied. Also, considering the current government was direct students of the said man, it is very likely they follow their teacher's footsteps. 

They certainly did in being wary of the Uchiha. 

Tobirama would be so disappointed with their way of dealing with a coup uprising and treatment of the last of the clan. 

Back to the topic, after careful consideration, the possible members for their team were,

Hinata Hyuuga,

Ino Yamanaka,

Sakura Haruno. 

Hinata was unlikely considering two dojutsu on the same team were not very common. 

Ino was not as unlikely, but it's possible she'd team with a Nara and Akimichi to continue the tradition. Still a possibility though. 

Which left Haruno Sakura. A civilian born, first-generation shinobi in training. No practical skills, nothing special. Holds the first position in class for written exams since forever. Good, but not noticeable enough to attract attention. Best chakra control in class, after him of course. According to political play, satisfactory to be in their team until she makes chunin and can be redirected towards medic corps after, or until she gives up on the shinobi lifestyle. Or worst-case scenario, dies. 

Good thinking, but fortunately for him, he had a perfect way to get her out of the race to be their third teammate. He didn't have anything against the girl, except that Sasuke's annoyance shot up like anything when she was near him and any attempts at teamwork would fail due to that drift. And her intense dislike for Naruto too. She did not meet his standards, simple as that. 

No, he was not talking like an old man. 

Shikamaru shut the fuck up challenge. 

He walked to the Hokage's office and his secretary let him through without a second glance. Most people would have to make appointments with the Hokage days prior to get a slot at his convenience, but Naruto was somewhat of an exception. Everyone knew that by now. 

"Good morning Jiji!" he greeted as he walked in, the Sandaime gave him a smile before setting aside his documents. 

"Good morning Naruto-kun. Enjoying the day off from the academy?" he asked politely. 

"Yep. Gonna be done with the academy pretty soon y'know! Less than a year left, I'm still telling you that you should've let me take the graduation exam with the last batch. You can't control Uzumaki Naruto's awesomeness after all!" 

"Of course, of course. So, you're here for a reason I suppose?" he asked gently, holding his hands and letting his chin rest on them. 

"Yes. I was thinking of the genin teams dattebayo. Guess you can't tell me my members?" a long look from the Hokage that was increasing familiar by now told him all he wanted to know. 

"Fine fine, so anyway, let me show you something. Give me your hand, palm up," he instructed and the old man complied, an amused smile on his lips. 

Naruto bought a kunai to his palm and after looking at his face for confirmation, made a small clean cut on it. Then he bought both his palms over it and let his life energy flow through it. Soon there was a green glow over the area and the cut healed as if it had never been there. He looked up to the Hokage and was extremely pleased to see the shocked expression. Yes he knew, Uzumaki didn't make traditional medics. They had too much chakra. 

The only medics their clan ever produced were either half Uzumaki's, Jinchuriki able to utilize Kurama's Yin chakra, or people who could replicate medical procedures with the help of seals. It wasn't just about poor chakra control, plenty of Uzumaki's through the generations have had good control, it was the density of their chakra itself. For any non-Uzu shinobi, their chakra would completely overpower theirs and could be fatal unless it contained  _ Healing Ability _ , a bloodline in one of the branch families of the Uzumaki clan. 

He was, of course, all three, even though the last didn't apply here. 

Hashirama was able to heal himself from any injury that was life-threatening for any other shinobi mid-battle. Uzumaki Mito, curious of her husband's ability, had modified it into the 'Byakugo' seal that resided proudly on her forehead. There was very little an Uzumaki could not do with ink and paper. That seal was further used by Tsunade of the Sannin. There was no way Naruto would let go of his legacy. Technically,  _ he was,  _ in someone or the other, the inspiration of the seal. 

"W- Um, where did you learn that?" the Hokage asked after a moment of silence and Naruto flashed him his most innocent, brightest smile (it always made Sasuke agree to make him Ramen for dinner) and said, "I was looking through some of Mito-obachan's stuff and found some stuff in scrolls and whatever. It was boring but since I am an Uzumaki I decided to read through and learnt some stuff." 

"......I see. Naruto, no more using medical ninjutsu on yourself, or anyone else before showing your progress to the village hospital. I'm very proud of you for learning this all by yourself and for taking an interest in your clan legacy, but things like these can be  _ very very _ dangerous, okay?" Naruto nodded, he had already expected the 'no messing around' speech before coming here. 

"Good, you're interested in Medical ninjutsu?" he asked, leaning back and absently rubbing his elbow. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna be the best Medic ever. So you better take that into consideration when choosing my teammates dattebayo." he finished seriously and they talked some more before he took his leave. Haruno Sakura would probably not be on his team anymore. 

He hoped. 

It was still a few hours before noon so he decided to go and visit Ichiraku's!

He happily made his way over to his favourite establishment but just as he was turning around the corner that led to the street where it was located, he found an unimpressed Uchiha Sasuke standing there, arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised. 

Oh, man. 

"How even?" he mumbled and Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I can sense your chakra all the way from the other end of the village. Let's go home, you had Ramen yesterday. Plus I want to try one of mom's recipe's." he reasoned and dragged a sulking Naruto home. Itachi would probably be expecting them to return soon. 

No, Shikamaru, he did  _ not  _ have a bodyguard. Who also served as a full-time mother hen. 

_ No, Shikamaru, shut the fuck up.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some of y'all leave such sweet comments like <333  
> everytime i feel like nah it's too much work i read something thats so fkn sweet that im all mushy and happy. it really keeps me motivated to write to thank you very much!!
> 
> as always, share your thoughts in the comments, stay safe.
> 
> ages in this chapter. 
> 
> naruto and sasuke: 11  
> itachi: 15
> 
> plot and timeline inconsistencies because i'm lazy like that. 
> 
> hope you enjoyed, most probably genin teams will form next chapter so stay tuned <3

**Author's Note:**

> \- a lot of plot will be changed according to the storyline  
> \- canon facts are mostly ignored, I want to do things my own way.  
> \- updates may be slow but I will try my best  
> \- some characters may be ooc. (especially naruto and sasuke)  
> \- relationships may be changed later on, right now, romance in not the focus. 
> 
> leave kudos and comments if you like <3


End file.
